Adaptation - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Adaptation

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Being John Malkovich can be considered a revival for several people. For one it was the feature film debut of eclectic producer/magazine owner/writer Spike Jonze, but it revitalized John Malkovich’s fading career and also garnered writer Charlie Kaufman a seat at the table. The quirky comedy cemented Kaufman’s odd sense of humor and strange writing techniques as a power house within the industry, and garnered quite the award haul for their collaboration together. Three short years later the duo would come back again and try something different. This time a production that is much more esoteric, and appeals to David Lynch fans with the sort of mystery/puzzle film that reminds one of Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive and Memento in it’s surreal mystery.

Image Studios licensed the 2002 from Columbia/Tri Star back in 2012 and released a stellar Blu-ray for the most part, but it’s not long out of print and copies prices can get out of control. Luckily Shout Factory rescued (or re-licensed) the flick and made it the 112th title in their premier Shout Select lineup with a new encode with a few small new extras.

Describing Adaptation is almost an effort in futility, as the structure and framing of the film’s script is difficult at best. The show revolves around a screenwriter also called Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage), a neurotic man who has issues with being personable to people, and suffers from his own psyche conflicting in his head. Kaufman is just about done with filming Being John Malkovich and he’s working on an adaptation of the novel Orchid Thief for his next film project. The only thing is, he’s gotten to a certain point in the odd script and can’t seem to go any further. His internal monologues with himself (also played by Cage) keep him from actually breaking any new ground, until he finally decides to go and visit the author Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep) herself and get some clarity.

However, this leads to a nightmaric adventure as the obviously nearly schizo is forced to overcome his inner character weaknesses, gets involved in a murder, all the while being driven by a mental version of himself who is driving him more and more insane as he goes.

Charlie Kaufman the ACTUAL writer really does use his character of the same name as a sort of outlet for his own issues. Kaufman has made no secret of the fact that he’s a rather awkward writer, and the outpouring of Cage’s character is almost therapeutic for the man. You can see the exaggerated mirror image that the writer has made for himself, and just tweaked or really ran with some of his own awkward character traits. I mentioned above that trying to dissect Adaptation like a traditional three art story is futile, as Kaufman and Jonze make the entire thing a puzzle box wherein the viewer thinks that they understand the complexities of the script, only to have the rug pulled out from under them and the film go off in a completely different direction. This little “realization followed by shock” follows the film around the entire near 2 hour run time, and even at the end the audience is left contemplating and chewing over what he/she just watched and deciding what the film really means to them.

One thing that I really hate about reviewing highly regarded films is falling into the trap of pontificating to the point of nausea, where the reader has gotten bored of the review by the 10th page. I know it happens to the best of us, and Adaptation has always been one of those movies where reviewers will write a doctoral thesis about what the film means, or what it might possibly mean. I’m going to try my best to cut that habit off at the knees right here and summarize it with this simple point. Adaptation is a great flick that is both odd and endearing, straight forward and completely obtuse. It is a great look into the surrealistic mind of both Kaufman AND Spike Jonze and lets the audience just get enthralled with the little puzzle film. It may not be completely accessible to a casual viewing, but fans of Mulholland Drive and Memento are going to get a lot out of it. Nic Cage is absolutely PHENOMENAL, taming his normal neurotic and insane antics to a dull roar (some insanity and neurosis are needed for the script) and the rest of the all star cast (including Judy Greer, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Brian Cox and many more) just throw themselves into their bizarre roles with gusto.




Rating:

Rated R for language, sexuality, some drug use and violent images




Video:

Shout Factory seems to have taken the Columbia/Tri Star master used for the 2012 Image Studios disc and just given it a new encode, with some slight improvements. Grain structure appears a little better between the too, as does facial details around heads and faces seems slightly improved. Other than that, the two encodes look eerily similar in quality, which is not a bad thing as the image disc was given VERY high marks back in the day. The grainy look of the actual FILM is quite nice, never is intrusive and the stylistically shot colors are vibrant and a bit over blown. White levels are pushed a bit high, but never bloom, and skin tones take on a strangely ruddy appearance. You can see every pore and fiber of Cage’s face (sometimes a bit TOO much as you notice his rug’s inconsistencies a few times) and overall clarity is great. Black levels are good for the most part, although a few scenes within Kaufman’s home show spikes in the grain levels. Still a great looking disc and for those who have lost out on the OOP 2012 disc will be happy to see that Shout Factory hasn’t ruined a fantastic looking disc with artifacts that weren’t present before.








Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA track appears to be a direct clone of what used for the Image release, and the 2.0 DTS-HD MA track a simple downmix of that 5.1 track. The mix isn’t overtly showy or exciting, but it is exceedingly precise with it’s directionality and precision for little noises. When Chris Cooper’s character is hunting orchids in the Florida swamps you feel as if you’re completely surrounded by nature, with the little buzzes and hums of a swamp flitting in the background, and some more intensely shocking bits really standing out. Even the world of Kaufman himself at a movie studio is pinpoint precise, with the audience privy to every little mutter and sound of a busy sound stage, mixed with crystal clear dialog. I did say it was not showy, but the 5.1 track is very effective and so meticulously places every key sound at a specific place in the mixing that it just exudes a sense of OCD to the design.









Extras:

• Original Featurette
• Trailer
• Still Gallery

Final Score: ​

Adaptation is a GREAT movie. But it’s not a movie that lends itself towards a lazy Friday night where you can zone out and watch things blow up, or giggle incessantly. It’s a thinking man’s comedy that is as esoteric and oddball as they come. Where the laughs are built into the self deprecation of the lead, as well as a sort of Hunter S. Thompsonesque surreal take on the world. The film has garnered a massive amount of praise over the years, and even though I hadn’t seen it since I bought the 2012 Blu-ray, still holds up some 18 years later as one of the most thoughtful comedies of the last 20 years. The new Blu-ray looks and sounds VERY similar to the old Image Studios release that has been out of print for quite some time (slight edge to the video IMO), but for those who never picked up that release, it’s nice to see it back on the market with a few tiny extras that are ...well...extra, and a snazzy new slipcover.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Judy Greer, Chris Cooper, Meryl Streep, Brian Cox
Directed by: Spike Jonze
Written by: Charlie Kaufman (Screenplay), Susan Orlean (Novel)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: R
Runtime: 115 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: October 20th, 2020
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Recommendation: Highly Recommended

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Never heard of this but will check it out once available on amazon prime/netflix.